Cosmic is Forever
by Yuna Yami Mouto
Summary: Set after S1E22. Tony may have fooled Galactus and left before the Devourer could do anything, but was that the end? If so, then why is there a golden man the Universe is celebrating and the Cabal hunting?
1. Chapter 1

**Cosmic is Forever**

 **Summary:Set after may have fooled Galactus and left before the Devourer could do anything,but was that the end?If so, then why is there a gold man the Universe is celebrating and the Cabal hunting?**

 **a/n: Hi! This is my first Avengers Assemble story and I wanted to give it a go, since I really like all Avengers universes. I really liked this episode and I thought to write a short story of a few chapters for a certain what if that is already stated, somewhat, in the summary. I hope you like it and I would like to hear from anyone. Any reviews are accepted, be they criticisms or comments. Please enjoy!**

It came out of nowhere, stories of a man in golden armor who wields the Power Cosmic. It is said that he had tricked Galactus and put him into a deep sleep that will last for millennia. This feat has decreed him a hero throughout the Cosmos and everywhere you went, you could hear different versions of the same story, each story teller giving it his own twist. In a matter of a few days, the entire Universe was talking about only one being: the new Herald of Galactus, the beloved Space Knight as everyone calls him.

His story reached every crook and dark place in the Universe, no being of higher intellectual capabilities left ignorant of his existence and no villain left unshaken by the prospect of such a protector lurking about. Those who sought to use this noble Knight spent countless sleepless hours trying to think of a way to capture this being and further their own goals. No gossiping mouth could contain the story and so it reached a small galaxy of rather backwater beings and technology in comparison to the rest of the Universe, the story getting to the third planet of that galaxy's solar system and traveling further until it reached a powerful being's enhanced ears.

The Red Skull had called a meeting on Hyperion's insistence, the cape-wearing pretty boy panicked beyond anything the Leader of HYDRA had ever seen in his long life. He watched now as his team settled into their seats, some of them more disgruntled for being here than others. After all, it was the middle of the night and while Dracula could stay up for eternity, even Atumma needs sleep every now and then, never mind Modoc or Skull himself, despite his own (Stark's) armor or the super soldier serum in his body allowing him minimal sleep.

Hyperion was floating back and forth and muttering to himself while the others tried to wake themselves up a bit, not succeeding and not giving a damn. After a few more minutes passing like this, Modok finally snapped.

"Enough! I won't stand for this foolishness, Skull! Why have you called us here?"

"For once, I agree with the giant head." The Atlantian King nodded. "Why have you brought us here, and at such an hour?"

"And think well over your answer, Red Skull, because it just might be the last one you'll ever give as a free being." Dracula drawled in his creepy voice that sent chills down most of their spines even if they will never admit to it.

The Nazi scowled. "I actually do not know any more than you do, my fellow Cabal. It is Hyperion that insisted on this meeting and wouldn't let me sleep until I called you here. I just hope it's something that we can resolve quickly or in the morning, because I am really not up to this." Truth be told, he has been feeling more and more his age than he should be. Not his actual age of over a hundred years, but the age he had been during the war. The serum had given him an extended youth, but even extended was not eternal.

"The all muscle with no brains?!" The AIM leader screeched, but said man never stopped his fretting and it was starting to worry the others. Not because they cared for Hyperion, goodness no, but because whatever was tough enough to unsettle the arrogant man this much, it was a potential danger to the rest of them, too.

"So why have you called us here, Hyperion? I have a dark Kingdom to rule."

Dracula's question finally snapped Hyperion out of his trance and he settled on the ground, turning his full attention to the Cabal. "I have summoned the Cabal to discuss a very dangerous matter for us. The past few days, the whole Universe has been buzzing with an incredible story that has steered things out of the control of the Guardians of the Galaxy or any other superhero teams out there, as well as a rise of activity on the villain side of things."

They stayed quiet as he took a dramatic pause. "A new Herald has been chosen. And he has knocked Galactus unconscious."

"That's not possible!" Modok and Skull both exclaimed while the other two looked confused.

"What is so important about someone knocking someone else out. Atumma does this on a daily basis!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but the rotten fish has a point. We care about this... why?"

"Galactus is no mere someone!" Modok hissed at them. "He is a being older than the Universe itself, its creator and destroyer. He possesses the Power Cosmic, the greatest force in existence and you think knocking him out cold is an easy task?!"

"You have obviously never seen him." The HYDRA leader said as he began rubbing his temple.

"That's not even the point!" The orange and yellow clad man snapped. "The point is that he has chosen a new Herald who now holds the power to bend time, space and reality to his will with less than a thought! And he saved a planet-full of people, so he must be a hero! We must find him and kill him, or get him on our side, because otherwise, we are doomed!"

"I have never thought such power to exist." Atumma commented, deep in thought. "Would the Tesseract not be enough to take him down?"

"The Herald is said to be indestructible to everyone but Galactus himself, and there are even speculations that should he ever lose control of a Herald, not even he could stop him." Skull supplied.

"The Herald is meant to protect Galactus from everything, even from himself. Most creatures to possess such power while being intelligent and free would snap their mind to smithereens and all chaos would ensue." Hyperion explained, pacing once again. ''It is the reason he control them, takes away free will. A Herald cannot talk, cannot think. This one did both and put him to sleep. I don't know what terrifies me more; the thought that such a Herald exists or the thought that a mere mortal could have the power of mind and will to defy Galactus's power in the first place.''

''What do you mean?'' The King of Darkness asked, growing uneasy.

''Galactus controls his Heralds from the moment he gifts them with the Power Cosmic.'' Modok said, darting glances in all directions as if he were expecting said Herald to jump out of nowhere and blindside him, which wouldn't be too big of a stretch on a Herald's power. ''Imagine the will power behind a person who is able to resist that ultimate control that kills all thoughts. Imagine that mind that can still think for itself and not go crazy from that power overload. No mind should be able to withstand that, not even Immortal minds like that of the Asgardians or your vampires.''

''We don't know who the Herald is.'' Skull pointed out. ''And we must find out if we want to be able to do anything about it. He might be an Asgardian or some other powerful species.''

''I agree. We need to gather more data.'' The floating head added.

''Where was he last seen and who has been seen with him?'' Red Skull demanded, Modok getting ready to record all new data.

Hyperion didn't have all that accurate answers but he told them what he knew. ''Galactus was last spotted on the now destroyed planet of the D'Bari, where his Herald tricked him into devouring a planet with an unstable core that was about to blow. Galactus is now floating in space but the Herald had left with what was recognized as the Guardians' ship.''

''Guardians?'' Atumma asked, not understanding what sentinels had to do with any of this.

''The Guardians of the Galaxy. Yes, I've heard of them.''Dracula commented. ''It would make sense that they would be there, but why would a Herald willingly go with them?'' It would be sure imprisonment if not even death. This Herald sounds like a dangerous threat to everyone, so there is no way he is free now.

''He must have outsmarted them as well.'' Modok told them. ''After all, if you can trick a being older than the Universe itself, what is a handful of incompetent fools in comparison?''

''Then we agree that the Herald is still free.'' The King of Atlantis nodded and crossed his arms. ''Now, how do we find him?''

''Atumma has a point. The Guardians are the only ones who may know who or where the Herald is but they are somewhere in the Universe, playing heroes for all.'' Red Skull leaned back in his chair, feeling a headache of epic proportions. ''How are we supposed to find them, as I know that we will have little trouble reaching them. I am sure that Modok could build us a space vessel without much difficulty.'' Mododk looked smug at the compliment but then frowned as he realized that he can't build something to track ordinary beings without some special energy signature to look for.

Hyperion suddenly looked excited, but not in a giddy, good way, but more like the sinister version all villains have. It caught the others's attention and they focused on him. ''Actually, the Guardians weren't the only ones there. The Avengers had helped them fight the Herald before his plan became apparent and they all left.''

Skull perked up at this. ''This is good. It would be easy to trick the pathetic Guardians but there is no way that the Herald could have fooled Stark. The man is far too paranoid to believe him just like that. There is a good chance that they are holding him here, on Earth. It is just a question of whether he is in a SHIELD cell or in the Avengers Tower.''

The alien frowned. ''Actually, Stark wasn't there. Everyone except him and the Black Widow was, though.''

The Nazi sighed again. ''Then he is free. The good Captain will always look for the best in everyone and probably be as easily fooled as the others have been. Stark and the Widow would probably be the only ones _not_ fooled.''

''Be that as it may, Skull, we can still learn who the Herald was from them.'' Dracula pointed out and the Cabal nodded, putting their heads together to actually find a plan to try and capture a being more powerful than any other in existence.

They may be super villains, but they were clearly not all that intelligent.

After three hours of relentless headaches and tiring thinking, Red Skull jumped out of his seat, startling a snoring Atumma, who promptly fell out of his chair and made Modok laugh at him, the big head falling onto the floor with the force of his laughter. Dracula looked pained as he thought that these were the people he had allied himself with. What a disgrace for him and his kind.

''I got it! This is the perfect plan! Listen up, Cabal, because as soon as we put this plan into action, the Herald of Galactus will be our servant for eternity!'' And this exclamation was followed by diabolical laughter that echoed throughout their submarine, chilling HYDRA and AIM agents as well as all Atlantians and vampires that heard it, soon followed by the laughter of the rest of the Cabal.

In a tall tower in New York, a certain black haired, brown-eyed genius sneezed in his workshop.


	2. Chapter 2

**Cosmic is Forever**

 **Summary:Set after may have fooled Galactus and left before the Devourer could do anything,but was that the end?If so, then why is there a gold man the Universe is celebrating and the Cabal hunting?**

Tony knew that things were not the same. He was not the same, not anymore, anyway.

Ever since the whole Galactus spectacle he felt himself drawing away from everyone and they didn't seem to notice. He stopped calling Sam into the lab, stopped giving Hulk and Thor things to see if they were really the new alloy that he could cover the Tower's walls in so that they don't bring the building down. Stopped waiting for Natasha to come back from SHIELD missions with a ready glass of vodka to calm her nerves down so she could stop being Black Widow and become Natasha Romanov, the Avenger. He stopped pestering Clint for using his arc reactor to pop popcorn and even stopped complaining to Fury when the man bothered to call. Heck, he even stopped giving Cap his reinforced punching bags. He simply left several dozen outside the lab every day and the good Captain would take them without knocking on Tony's door.

They never noticed when he no longer came to team dinners on Tuesdays or skipped the Friday move nights. They all just assumed he was busy and no one even bothered to see if he was okay. He guessed that he deserved it after the stunt he had pulled with Galactus but surely they would have stopped with the cold treatment the second day? Sure, each and every one of them knew how to hold a grudge, but never against each other. That's what made them such a good team...

Then again, maybe he wasn't the best judge in that category. He had never been one to play well with others, a side effect of never having friends until he was dying and met Yinsen in that horrible cave. He had only then realized that all those he considered friends were actually work associates and they had no choice but to put up with his crap. Then the Avengers happened and for a while, it all worked before they separated and went their own ways. Cap's supposed death is what brought them together and he had no doubt that if Steve died, everyone would leave again and the only friends he will have will once again be JARVIS and his bots. Not that he minded, but he had gotten so used to having a Tower full of people that he would be lonely if they left.

The handsome billionaire sighed as he put down the blowtorch he had been using. He rubbed his forehead, feeling the fatigue after five days of no sleep. This was also a first in a long time. Usually Sam or, more often, Cap would have come down to the lab and forced him out by day three if not sooner, but no one had come. Then again, they might not have noticed. He looked as if he had been sleeping regularly, maybe even more than he usually did, when in fact he had not slept a wink since the whole Herald situation. The closest to a break that he had gotten was sitting in the subatomic dimension with Ant-Man when Falcon's mom had been visiting. Surprisingly enough, Scott had noticed just how ragged he was while his own team was none the wiser. He and the other scientist had stayed in contact since, becoming a bit more than fellow heroes. It was nice having a human friend every once in a while and his ants, who he insisted on naming, were a hell of a blast when he was their size or they his.

Tony looked around his lab and sighed once again. ''JARVIS, shut down all projects for the time being. I'm going to get something to eat.''

''Very good, Sir.'' The AI sounded relieved and Tony rolled his eyes. He knew that JARVIS had wanted to get him out of the lab for the past five days but had refrained from making to many comments because he knew that if Tony got annoyed, he would mute him and then the AI wouldn't be able to call for help if the genius fainted, like that one time that they will never mention. ''Should I order something or will you be making your own lunch?''

''I've got it, J.'' Tony waved it off as he passed his bots and petted them all before going to the elevator which instantly took him to the penthouse. He grinned when he passed a floor where Hawkeye must have been waiting for the lift because he heard the man screaming ''Oh, come _on_!'' from the other side. He knew he was J's priority on his good day, when he slept and ate regularly, but on days like this, JARVIS would become vindictive and ignore the team completely for not noticing that Tony was not taking care of himself. Not even Steve, who usually came to get Tony to eat or sleep, would be excluded from such treatment. It was nice knowing that he had such support, even if it was from a being designed to be like that.

When he got to the floor which held the kitchen, Tony was surprised to find it empty. Usually someone was up here, especially in this room, since they had a super soldier with a faster than normal metabolism, a gamma reactor and a Norse god who was used to greater quantities of food. He wasn't complaining, though, as he really didn't feel like being around anyone.

He was changing and he knew why, but his team wouldn't understand. It wasn't something he could stop and with each day he could feel the change settling in deeper into his very being. Maybe Thor would be understanding, but Natasha was bound to tell Fury and Steve is going to be a good soldier and support the Director of SHIELD's decision when he decides Tony is too dangerous and that they should lock him up somewhere like they did with Radioactive Man from the Russian superhero team, the Winter Guard. Yeah, he knew about that. SHIELD can pretend all it wants that he can't hack them, but the truth is that he knows more about SHIELD than SHIELD knows about itself.

It doesn't matter. Unlike the Radioactive Man, he can't be contained, the thing coursing through his veins far too powerful. If they ever learned of it, he would be considered a danger to everyone and if he can't be contained, they will try destroying him. That's going to backfire fantastically and might as well destroy Earth and the whole galaxy instead.

He was still deep in thought while he was making raviolis. He didn't even hear when Cap entered the room so he almost jumped out of his skin when Steve placed a hand on his shoulder. He felt that thing inside him raising to the surface, reacting to his fright and readying itself for an opponent. He whirled around to face whoever it was and relaxed when he saw it was Steve, although he wasn't lone. Spiderman was with him and Tony forced himself to smother the power beating in him. He placed a hand over his arc reactor, and thus his heart, to show how they had surprised him.

''Jesus, Cap. Are you trying to kill me?''

Steve looked apologetic as soon as he saw that Tony was holding a hand over the reactor and he smiled sheepishly. ''Sorry, Tony. I didn't mean to startle you.''

Tony shook his head and turned back to his lunch before it burnt. ''It's okay, Cap. No harm done. How come no one informed me that we'll be having a guest over today?''

''Oh!'' Steve looked behind him at Spiderman, who was gushing at every piece of hand made technology Tony had placed in the kitchen. ''We discussed it yesterday. Spiderman's apartment building had gotten knocked down in the Fantastic Four's last fight against Doom and SHIELD is working on it while Spidey stays with us. If it's not a problem, I mean. We discussed it yesterday over dinner but you were in your lab. You must have quite a project if you're not leaving it for pizza night.''

Tony turned around with his finished raviolis, ready to serve them, only to almost drop them when an overexcited teenager dropped in front of him. He let out a very manly yelp and had to maneuver a bit with the pot, barely managing to save the food. Spiderman jumped in to try and help him and the two of them ended up on the floor, the pot raised high above their heads.

''Sorry, Mr Stark! I'm so sorry! I just got a bit overexcited since you are my favorite hero and all and I didn't mean-''

As if Tony's luck hadn't been bad enough he heard Sam and Clint come in, the archer complaining about JARVIS's new behavior. ''I mean, I understand that he has to listen to Tony, but Tony had told him time and again that he has to listen to us, too!'' The blond gesticulated wildly as they crossed the kitchen's threshold. ''I know that this isn't the first nor the last time that he'll act like this, what with Tony's self-destructive lifestyle, but can't he at least let me get in on the elevator?''

''Come on, it's not JARVIS's fault. He's designed that way. Tony is his first priority and all that.''

''You think it's because he's a program? Rookie, how long have you been in this Tower? You should know by now that JARVIS is self aware.'' Hawkeye couldn't believe this any more than Tony could. I mean, even Steve and Thor had accepted the fact that JARVIS is his own person!

''But he is a program, Hawkeye. He's just made to mimic free will.'' The automatic doors to the kitchen rushed closed and the ex SHIELD agent barely got out of the way. Falcon wasn't so lucky. ''Hey! What gives?''

''Told you!''

''Wow! So you really do have a true AI! How awesome is that!'' Spiderman yelled from his tangle of limbs with Tony and Iron Man groaned when he saw Hawkeye turn to look at them. '3... 2... 1'

Hawkeye joined them on the floor, laughing his head off so hard that tears were running down his face. He was pounding the ground with one fist while the other was holding his stomach as he cackled at Tony's misery. ''Stark! This is precious ahahahaha! How- haha- How do you get yourself in these- hah- situations all the - hahaha- time?''

Tony scowled. ''Just for that, you're not getting any of my raviolis.'' The archer immediately shut up, finally looking at the pot in Tony's hands.

''You cooked? And you weren't going to _call_ me?''

Tony smirked as a smiling Steve helped him and Spidey up. The kid was looking him over worse than a mother hen, and that said since only Steve had ever mother hened the Avengers before. ''What can I say? I think you deserved it for all the popcorn you've popped in my arc reactor.''

''Oh, come on!''

Before anything else could be said, JARVIS announced the danger alert just before the Tower shook. ''Warning. Hyperion has just crashed into the side of the Tower and is trying to knock us over. Tower integrity by 20%.''

''At least my upgrades are working.'' Tony commented before gesturing towards the closest hidden closet in the wall. JARVIS opened it without any commands needed to be uttered and a brand new Iron Man armor rushed out towards Tony. As the red and gold armor assembled around him, Tony commend the other Avengers. ''Avenger Assemble!''


	3. Chapter 3

**Cosmic is Forever**

 **Summary:Set after may have fooled Galactus and left before the Devourer could do anything,but was that the end?If so, then why is there a gold man the Universe is celebrating and the Cabal hunting?**

As the Avengers Tower shook, Tony turned towards the Avengers in the kitchen. ''Hawkeye, topside, now! Cap, living room and wait for Black Widow. Sam, you and Thor are to go out and fire from there and I want Hulk to smash, because where there is Hyperion, the rest of the Cabal isn't far behind.'' The four men nodded and ran off while Iron Man looked at the teen at his side.

Spiderman looked up at him, determined to help keep his temporary home safe. ''What do I do?''

''Your web is not something the Cabal has ever faced before, so do your best to wrap as much of it as you can around them. Try to immobilize them but don't get in too close.''

''Got it!'' He was about to run off, but a metal covered hand stopped him by the shoulder.

''Not so fast, Spidey. You're sticking with me.'' The power was dancing now and he will need all of his concentration to keep it in. He didn't need to worry about young heroes facing down some of Earth's Nastiest Villains. "Just as they never faced you in a fight, you've never fought them. You aren't going alone anywhere unless it is strictly necessary. Got that?"

Spiderman saluted. "Sir, yes Mr Stark, sir!"

Tony waved him off. "Leave that for Cap, but later. Right now, I need to deal with annoying villains who are interrupting my lunch. Raviolis are not a tasty dish when cold, but sweet revenge is." With that, Iron Man flew out of the kitchen with Spiderman swinging out behind him.

He had been right about the rest of the Cabal being there. Hyperion and Thor were fighting each other high above the Tower, lasers lighting up the sky while the ground shook as Hulk and Atumma threw each other around or smashed things in their own fight. Captain America was fighting with Dracula, the King of vampires trying to suck out his supper soldier serum rich blood. Black Widow and Hawkeye were busy with AIM, HYDRA Atlantian and vampire foot soldiers with aerial help from Falcon and JARVIS, who had taken over the Towers's defenses in order to help in the fight since, for once, he could outside Tony's armor. That left the Supper Adaptiod and the Iron Skull for Spiderman and Iron Man to deal with.

''Adaptiod is yours. Leave the Skull to me.'' Tony commanded before flying over to said German. Red Skull grinned nastily and he charged at Iron Man. The two armored men clashed, metal fists hitting red or black plating. Spiderman watched the fight until Modok got annoyed of being ignored and attacked with the Adaptiod. The kid barely dodged the two repulser blasts from the humanoid and turned to look at his enemy. He had never fought something like it before and it looked a bit creepy, but there was no way he was going to fail the Avengers in his first fight with them. The red and blue clad young hero jumped off of the building he had been crawling across and fired two webs at the Adaptiod's head, wanting to blind him, but it slashed at the with Falcon's wings.

''Oh crap.'' Was all Spiderman got to say when he saw its fists turning into hammers and electricity dancing over them. The next second he was dodging lightning as he swung over Natasha and Clint. The two SHIELD agents were holding their own in Central Park against Atumma's and Dracula's armies, HYDRA and AIM stopped by a well shot icing arrow that had created a barrier between them and the Avengers. Black Widow was jumping from one vampire to the closest Atlantian as she knocked them down one by one, either by using pressure points or her stings. Hawkeye was firing arrow after arrow at the others, dodging the return fire from the two technical armies every now and then. He was slowly running out of wooden arrows but he had some new and improved blinding arrows that now had the same wavelengths as the sunlight so any vampires that were hiding in the shadows will be dealt with either way.

He barely got out of the way when a shadow fell over him and he looked up to see Hulk and Atumma overhead. He rolled to the side as they crashed into the ground, shaking the entire park with the impact. A few soldiers stumbled and Hawkeye used this opportunity to trap a few more of them in with his sticky arrows as the two behemoths got up, ready to start pounding each other again.

Falcon nearly got hit by lasers in the air when Thor and Hyperion flew near him. He had been lucky but it cost him a good hit from a big AIM gun and he still nearly got grounded for it. He turned back to his targets, only to find an even bigger gun, held up by three men and aimed by another one, pointed in his direction and ready to fire. The red beam hit him straight on, but it wasn't strong enough for a Tony Stark homemade armor. Still, had the armor been any weaker, he would be seriously injured. As it was, he was just angry and bruised. He got back to where they were recharging the weapon to fire at Cap and he threw the holographic wing feather like daggers and the thing blew up in AIM's faces. He cheered internally before noticing that Spidey was facing the Adaptiod on his own and he made to help him, only to see a building about to fall on some civilians.

''It would seem that I am forever on civilian duty.'' He commented dryly and Clint laughed in his ear.

''Dude, someone's gotta do it.''

''Not the time, boys!'' Nat yelled as she felled yet another Atlantian.

''Avengers, focus! The Cabal isn't even trying to work together today. It's every man for himself and we need to know why.'' Steve told them with a grunt as he punched Dracula straight in the face. The vampire hissed at him and teleported at his back, aiming a punch at his head only the Captain was expecting it. He turned around and hit the other man with his shield, nearly braking his teeth again. The blue man hissed once again before retreating deeper into the shadows of the alley they had been fighting in. ''Anyone got the slightest clue as to what is going on?''

''I don't know, but Hyperion seems to be acting ... different.'' Thor answered as said villain seemed to be looking all over the place in the seconds they weren't pounding into each other with fists and hammer. ''It's almost as if ... he's afraid of something.''

''Hyperion? Afraid?'' Falcon asked, incredulous as to what would scare a person with almost infinite power. ''Of what?''

''Somehow, I don't want to know.'' Widow commented as she jumped on the shoulders of yet another AIM lackey and snapped his neck with her thighs of doom, as Tony jokingly called them. ''Whatever he fears must be beyond our imagination.'' Apparently she was thinking among the same lines as Sam was.

''I don't know. We can imagine quite a bit.'' Hawkeye couldn't resist but add and his partner threw him a look. He shrugged with a smirk as Iron Man threw the Red Skull into a building overhead. They were just pushing at each other, hands locked and trying to get the other to yield. Tony's armor had been upgraded by Tony Stark standard technology while Modok had to make do with any piece of tech that the Cabal could steal, so Tony's upgrades gave him some advantage. However, with most suits have the same core build, it wasn't much and so the Skull was almost on par with him, especially since he was still technically a super soldier like Steve. He used the building behind him as leverage and pushed Iron Man off of him, Tony quickly catching himself but the Skull had decided that it was enough with the games.

''Modok, proceed to stage 2.'' Suddenly, all of the Cabal was transported from their partners and the Avengers were prepared for a switch like last time, but instead, they all appeared on a tall building overhead, standing as a united force. They froze when they realized that Modok had transported his big floating head as well as the Tesseract and the cube was now in Red Skull's hand, raised high over all of their heads.

''Avengers, brace yourselves!'' Captain America warned as he raised his shield and the others took up defensive stances, Tony and Thor hovering over them, Falcon on the ground for once. Spiderman was sticking close to Iron Man, as he was instructed, hanging from a building right beside the armored man.

''Attention, Avengers!'' The Nazi addressed them instead of attacking them and Tony and Steve grew more tense. ''Today, we are here just to remind you that you cannot stop us as you are, and that you will never stop us with the power of the Tesseract.'' A nasty smirk was on the mad man's red lips and Steve scowled. ''However, we are not here to make you admit to our superiority-''

''Although, you might as well admit it already.'' Hyperion interrupted and Skull scowled at him. Dracula actually elbowed him in the gut, causing the space man to growl at him.

''As I was saying, that is not the reason we are here for today. Today, we are here to ask a simple question.''

''Go ask someone else to help you with your homework, tomato-head.'' Hawkeye snarked and Tony smirked under his faceplate. Thor laughed as he was swinging his hammer to stay in line with Tony in the air.

''Ay! We shall not help you.''

''You misunderstand, Avengers. By not answering,'' Skull directed the cube at some bystanders that HYDRA agents had caught. ''You endanger these innocent people.''

''What do you want, Skull? This isn't like you.'' Captain America said behind his shield, his eyes promising danger if he so much as dared to think about firing on a civilian. The German smirked, his heavily accented voice making him sound even more sinister than he already really was.

''We simply want to ask a few questions.''

''Why us?'' Falcon demanded.

''Because you are, regrettably, the nearest secure source of information regarding what we want to know.'' He really did sound like he regretted it, and he would once the Avengers managed to get those civilians safe and him away from either the suit he stole from Tony or the freaking Tesseract. He was holding the thing quite securely and none of them had a single doubt that he would gladly use it on them in a second's notice so they all stayed on high alert.

''And, pray tell, what would those questions be?'' Iron Man asked, for some reason the thing coursing through his veins not liking where this was going at all and it was raging inside. He briefly wondered if this is what Hulk felt like every day. Imagine living like that, all the time, knowing that you had to be extra careful so you don't hurt anyone and knowing that if anyone should ever take control of you, your friends would be unable to do anything against you or to stop you.

Before Skull coud even open his mouth, Hyperion pushed him to the side and Dracula just barely caught him before he fell off of the building. Skull was glaring at the orange and yellow clad man's back with such intensity Tony was surprised that he wasn't drowning in his own blood with a huge hole in his chest by now. ''Who is the Space Knight? How did he get his power? Where is he now?''

''Who?'' Was the confused answer that came from Hawkeye, the others exchanging uncertain looks. Tony froze and Thor stared, slightly alarmed, at the Cabal.

''The Space Knight!'' Hyperion yelled.

''Odin's beard.'' Thor mumbled under his breath and the power in Tony was doing cartwheels, demanding that its host get out of there, now! No one but Spiderman, who was level with them, noticed. That, and his spider senses were tingling, sensing a potential danger but not actual danger. It was strange but he knew that whatever it was, no matter how dangerous, it wasn't going to hurt him.

''We don't know anyone that goes by that name.'' Black Widow answered after a moment of a tense and confused silence.

''Don't lie! We know that you have fought Galactus during his last meal!'' The alien all but roared. ''I know you teamed up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to fight him and the Space Knight! _Who_ is he? Where is he?''

Tony's blood was ice and boiling at the same time and he couldn't think straight. JARVIS was whispering in his ear, trying to calm him down and bring him out of his panicked state, but it was having a lot less effect than it usually would. This couldn't be happening. It was too soon. He wasn't ready to confront anyone about who he now was, who he will now forever be. They wouldn't trust him with it, with this power that makes and destroys Universes. But he can't get rid of it, it's infinite, he can't use it up. He was dangerous and he still didn't know how to control or live with this terrible privilege, so much more so than even the Arc Reactor.

''Wait, do you mean-'' Sam was cut off and Tony was so glad for that, because if any of them said it, he would break.

''Yes! Where is the Herald of Galactus?!''


	4. Chapter 4

**Cosmic is Forever**

 **Summary:Set after may have fooled Galactus and left before the Devourer could do anything,but was that the end?If so, then why is there a gold man the Universe is celebrating and the Cabal hunting?**

They were saved from reacting with the unexpected help from Ant-Man. The HYDRA agents had managed to knock over one of the ant hills he lived in in Central Park and that drew his attention. When he saw what was going on, he had been quick in offering aid and with his help, they managed to make the Cabal retreat. After all, they couldn't do all that much against an army of both giant and natural sized ants.

''That was risky, crazy and ingenious all at once.'' Hawkeye had commented as soon as the bad guys left. ''Why aren't you an Avenger?'' It was a joking question, but he had never expected Tony's answer.

''Actually, after today, I'm thinking of expanding the group a bit. Maybe not full time Avengers, unless they want to, of course, but the backup we need from time to time. Both Spiderman and Ant-Man have proven themselves today and I think that earns them this reward.'' The conversation had ended at that and Stark had left for his lab, where JARVIS had to help him calm down so that the power in his body can calm down. It took him half an hour but it was worth it. By the time everyone was ready to debrief, Tony had calmed down enough that the power was now just dancing underneath his skin. It was still restless and it wasn't calming down beyond that. It didn't like that Tony had been brought up in that conversation any more than Tony had been.

The debriefing table was suddenly more full than it had been since when Tony had called the Avengers to assemble when he thought Cap was gone. Even learning that the Cabal was forming, not everyone had sat down. Now, everyone, even Scott and Peter were sitting. This was a surprise. Hulk liked to prowl around, restless with all that gamma energy in his body. Thor usually liked to play with Mjolnir or compete against Hulk in video games. Sam was usually around and about as much as Tony was, trying to help as much as he can. Widow sat in her place but there were times she wasn't at a meeting at all. And Steve often stood up when he was trying to make a point. Today, only Tony was on his feet and it was a strange feeling.

''So the Cabal are looking for the new Herald of Galactus? Are they absolutely insane or what?'' Spiderman asked after the situation has been completely explained. He had been there, but he had never seen or fought Galactus in person. Neither had Ant-Man but Tony had talked to him about it when they were storing Pym Particles during his last visit so he knew a bit about it.

''Why would they even want to go after a being so powerful? The Herald serves only Galactus and no one else, so there is no way they were thinking of adding him to the Cabal.'' Natasha said, looking over the files of the members of the Cabal. ''Not even mind control could make a Herald of Galactus betray his master.''

''I don't know. Shellhead sure did; he's the one that saved the D'Bari.'' Hwakeye commented. ''He even tricked him into giving him the Power Cosmic, then he used it to find an unstable planet and got him to try and eat it. The thing exploded into his face and knocked him out.''

''You were a Herald of Galactus?'' Scott, Peter and Natasha asked at the same time, staring at Tony with interest, admiration and apprehension respectively.

''How come you never told me?!'' Ant-Man pouted.

''That's so cool!'' Spiderman gushed, even more hero worship for Iron Man and Tony Stark in his face than ever before.

''Why hasn't SHIELD been informed about this?'' Black Widow asked in a dangerous tone.

"Because it was Avengers business." Clint said with crossed arms, staring at her in a way that indicated that they were having a silent conversation with their eyes. "And we dealt with it."

"Ay." Thor agreed, raising a fist in Tony's direction. "Iron Man thought up a brilliant plan that sated the insatiable Devourer! Songs should be sung in his name! Not criticisms from people who had not tasted the danger that is the Power Cosmic."

"So the Cabal is after Tony?" Sam asked, just to make things clear.

"No. A Herald stays a Herald as long as they serve Galactus. Tony broke the pact so he no longer has the power." Steve answered instead of the genius. "If he still had the power, he would have told us."

Tony was about to answer but Scott cut in. "If not Stark, then who are the Cabal after? Who has the Power Cosmic now, if Galactus is knocked out?"

"Is it at all possible to steal the power?" Peter asked, looking at Thor, who was basically their resident expert on all things not of Earth. The blond god thought about it before shaking his head.

"The Power is always given by Galactus himself. I have yet to hear of it being taken, let alone stolen."

"That, however, doesn't exclude the possibility." Sam comments, crossing his own arms. "It just makes it less probable. And after meeting Impossible Man ... there might be a being who can take the Power Cosmic by force."

"Preposterous!" Thor exclaimed.

"Why do you constantly disagree with the idea that it could have been stolen? It's the only logical explanation!" Sam snapped, not at all liking how his ideas kept being shot down without a seconds consideration or hesitation.

"Because," Thor got up and leaned over the table to tower over Falcon. And being that holds the Power Cosmic in such a pure and direct form loses its mind in a matter of seconds!" He thundered, no pun intended, glaring at the slightly cowed human. "No creature can have the power without Galactus bestowing it upon them, because Galactus erases their mind. They cannot talk or think, let alone _steal_ the power!"

"What about Tony then?" Natasha asked, still suspicious about the whole thing. "He rebelled yet he seems sane to me. Well, as sane as Tony Stark can ever be."

"Um, thanks?" The black haired man in question mumbled but was ignored.

"I am guessing that our friend has never fully accepted the Power Cosmic so he was able to keep his mind. And he released himself of the function of Herald when he left Galactus to devour the unstable core." Thor sat down and some of the tension drained away. "It is possible that he is simply a special case or that Galactus never quite trusted him. After all, what sane man goes to speak and negotiate with the Devourer himself?"

"Hey!"

The protest was ignored. "What if he's the Herald, still, if he kept the power but not the obligation behind it? Then what?"

"We can always ask the Guardians of the Galaxy when and where the Herald was last spotted. Maybe even Heimdall." Thor returned and Steve cut in before any more damage could be done. He had seen how Tony has been drawing into himself more and more as they talked and he would rather leave this unsolved than have to draw Tony out of his protective shell all over again. The first time had been hard enough.

"Then lets call the Guardians and ask them. We should probably tell them that the Cabal is after him as well, so that they stay alert."

"Ay. I agree."

Sam just nodded and the others gave grunts that meant the same. Tony just nodded and walked over to the communications counsel to make the call. He could have told JARVIS to do it but he wanted, needed something to do to stop the panic rising in him. He wasn't ready for this. He just ... wasn't ready. The hail went out and they waited a few seconds before Peter Quill, AKA Star Lord, appeared on the screen.

"Hey, Stark. Avengers." Steve scowled at how Star Lord especially acknowledged Tony, not at all liking the almost familiarity the other used with Iron Man. Especially since he had been ready to kill him last time they met. That and he didn't like anyone giving Tony extra attention. "This is a surprise. What can I do for you?"

"We need a piece of information, Star Lord, and then we'll be out of your hair for a good while." Tony answered, not paying much attention to the man himself. The Guardians of the Galaxy leader frowned but other than that didn't really react to Tony not noticing how he was singled out. There might have even been a pout on his face.

"Sure, shoot."

"Have you ever heard of someone calling himself the 'Space Knight' while also wielding the Power Cosmic? Without being the loyal Herald to Galactus at the same time, that is." Iron Man asked, leaning his hip on the consul. Both Steve and Peter Quill followed the movement but both snapped back to attention, Steve when Natasha cleared her throat and Peter when Gamora kicked him in the leg.

"Wow. I mean, I know that everyone has heard of him by now, but I honestly thought Earth wouldn't yet. Then again, they do have Tony Stark to keep them up to date. Ow!"

"Stop flirting and finish the conversation!" It was Rocket this time and Quill glared. Tony rolled his eyes but said nothing and waited, crossing his arms.

"Right. Yeah, so he's basically taking credit for what you did." He put up a hand to stop the other Avengers from bombarding him with questions. "He came out of nowhere, Power Cosmic and gold armor and all, and people just assumed that he was the one who put Galactus down and all that. Word spread pretty fast and here we are now, waiting for him to make a second appearance."

"Second?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow.

"How do you know it's not Tony?" Sam asked and Tony sharply looked at him. Hurt was all over his face for a moment before he wiped it away and hid behind a blank expression.

"Well, I can answer both questions with one reply. Good. Right, yeah. The last time the Space Knight has been spotted was two days ago, when Tony was helping out in that fight against the stray space slug that got onto Earth. Remember, you called us to pick it up and take it away."

"Yeah. That was fun, though." Hulk answered, remembering wrestling with the space slug with great delight.

"Where was he spotted?" Clint asked, standing next to Tony and crossing his arms. Steve went to walk over to Tony's other side but Thor beat him to it, standing at Tony's left shoulder while Clint was at the right. Spiderman was standing a little to the side, curious by these Guardians of the Galaxy while Ant-Man shrunk himself and settled on Tony's right shoulder. Steve scowled as he had to stand to the side of Hawkeye but still settled all the same.

"Um, a few galaxies away from our current location. That's quite a distance from both Earth and where we fought Galactus last time, but Power Cosmic comes with teleportation abilities."

"Great." Hawkeye muttered. "I hate teleporters."

"Riiight. Well, we gotta go, so... Bye Tony! Call more often, okay?" Steve fumed as Quill cut the connection with those parting words.

"Going from Stark to Tony..." Steve muttered darkly and Clint and Scott snickered at him. "Well, at least we got some information, right?"

"Yeah, and a lot harder task. If it were Tony, we would at least know who we are looking for and where to look for him." Natasha said with a frown, her hands on her hips. "Now, we have the whole Universe as both the field and the suspects. Great."

Not liking how this whole thing was going, Tony stretched and made a yawning motion despite not feeling tired at all. A perk from the Power Cosmic running through his veins: he doesn't get hungry or tired. Still, since the others didn't know that ... "Well, now that that's dealt with... I'm gonna take a nap. I'm beat." Without further adue, Stark walked out of the room and told JARVIS to get him an elevator. The AI did so without hesitation and no one tried to stop him but he heard Thor coming out after him.

"Friend Stark!" The thunderer called. Tony didn't feel like talking with him right now because he was bound to know something. Asgardians were very well informed beings and have no doubt heard all about the new Herald. He didn't know if they knew it was him but they knew he was on Earth and that was dangerous enough as it was. "Please, wait for me, my friend!"

Tony didn't stop, however. He had to be stopped by Thor's bigger and stronger hand on his shoulder but it also caused him to whirl around, the power begging to be used on his friend and the inventor had to force it down. "Please, Thor. I ... I can't talk right now. I'm tired and hungry-"

"But we must discuss this, sooner rather than later. It's for your own good, Tony." The god said gravely, gazing into the genius's eyes. "This is a grave responsibility that has been placed upon your shoulders. You must-"

"I don't have to do anything!" Tony snapped, eyes flashing with the light ocean blue and Thor stepped back, feeling the barely there tingle on the back of his neck that said that a great power was being restrained and only barely. It amazed him how this mortal had not only resisted Galactus's control but now he wielded the greatest power in the whole multiverse and he was trying to resist and control it, without any knowledge about it or any proper training. "I just want to get some sleep and maybe eat something. I just want to rest and forget about ... everything for a few hours. I can deal with everything else tomorrow."

Thor stared after him as the agitated man left the hall, into the escalator and out of his sight. The thunder god sighed, recognizing his friend's stubborn tendencies to do everything by himself, no matter the problem at hand, how big and complicated it was or how many people would be required to normally deal with it. He sighed, thinking that he will have to watch over him, more so than usual.

 _'Perhaps I should get the good Captain to help me on this quest of looking after friend Tony?'_ Thor mused as he turned around and nearly jumped out of his armor when he saw Hawkeye standing there. "Hawkeye, you have given me quite a fright!"

"Is Shellhead gonna be alright?" Clint asked, not even acknowledging the fact that he had managed to frighten the "fearless" Son of Odin like he usually would. Thor had noticed that he and Tony had become closer friends ever since Tony spoke to him while he was pretending to be the Herald of Galactus. The fact that he had chosen Clint over Cap said a lot about the level of trust between them. Well, it had to be high since they teamed up to prank Thor, Hulk and the _Black Widow_ all the time. If there was anyone who would be the right person to know about Tony's power ... it would be Clint.

 _'That, however, is not my decision to make.'_ Thor thought to himself as he went from observing the archer to once again looking to where Tony had gone. "I have a right to believe that he will be, even if the path to that might be a bit rough."

"Sooo, he's gonna be okay, then?" Clint asked again, not at all getting why Thor had to go and sound like a Chinese fortune telling cookie. He really hated those; too little cookie and too much paper. Not to mention the cryptic bullcrap.

"In all honesty," Thor said thoughtfully, still gazing at where their friend has gone. "I sure do hope so. Besides, he would tell us if he weren't, right?"

"Yeah, 'corse he would." Barton said, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself. "I mean, who else would he ask for help over his own team, right?"

"Ay! So we have no greater reason to worry! Friend Tony will come to us when he is ready." With a nod, Thor marched off to the kitchen, thinking who else would Tony pick over him to help with his new powers.

00000

The ringing of a doorbell surprised Doctor Stephen Strange from his meditation, as he had not sensed anyone approaching. The Sorcerer Supreme cautiously settled his feet back on the ground from where he had been floating two feet off the ground, sat in Indian style, and extinguished the flames that he had invoked in order to concentrate his power. The six dimensional rifts he had summoned disappeared and the house looked almost normal again. His Cape of Levitation placed snugly around his shoulders, Doctor Strange made haste to the doorway when he heard the bell being pressed repeatedly by whomever had decided to pay him a visit today.

 _'What day is it? Is it a visiting day? Is it a work day in normal everyday life? Do I even have a doorbell? And if I do, since when!?'_ These were the thoughts running through his mind as he arrived in front of the door. _'Who is it, anyway?'_

"Yes? How may I help yo-" The words died on his tongue as he recognized the well disguised man before him. Black hair with grayish brown accents to it, brown eyes that turned a grayish blue under the right light, Italian like tan and a gouty style beard, there was no mistaking Tony Stark but instead of his usual get-up of Armani and Gucci suits or well worn old band T-shirts or even the Iron Man armor and under-suit, the genius, billionaire, philanthropist was dressed in an ordinary, plain hoodie, a pair of ripped jeans and a NY cap on his head. Even his sneakers looked worn out and, all in all, he looked nothing like the press or the Avengers would ever suspect him to look. Heck, Strange almost didn't recognize him! "Well, this is certainly a surprise. What would Tony Stark, man of science and technology, the face of the future, need of a man of magic and mystical arts?" It was asked in a jesting tone but the joke died in his throat even faster than his casual greeting has moments ago when he saw the look in Stark's eyes. "Stark?"

Tony ignored his worry with a sorrowful easy that made Strange frown. "Doctor Strange, you know I wouldn't come to you if the situation weren't dire."

"Tony? Is something wrong?" Stephen cut in, not allowing the other man to ramble on until he decided whether or not to spill it. It happened way too often and Strange was not about to fall for the - very successful - trick.

Tony took off the cap and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. "I need you to promise me two things-"

"Stark-"

"Promise me."

" _Stark_ -" He tried again but Tony only raised a hand to stop him with a very serious look in his eyes.

"Promise me."

Stephen nodded. "I'll promise after you tell me what it is I am committing myself to."

"Fair enough." Tony conceded with a nod, putting his hand down. "Okay, first? You don't talk about this. With anyone! No one knows but me and you, okay?" Stephen thought about it and how he was to make two promises at once, so if he didn't agree to the second part of the deal, he can decide whether or not he'll be telling someone. "Second ... " the man paused and didn't look ready to continue so Strange took pity on him and prompted.

"You have to tell me if you want help, Tony."

Tony nodded and took a deep breath. "I need you to not ask any questions ... and I need your help, in theory, how to control the energy in your powers."

Strange stared at him, speechless, because he had never expected to hear this.

 _'Did Dormamu take over the world and flipped it on its head or am I dreaming? Because there is no way this is reality!'_

"So, what's your answer?" The genius asked, looking ready to bolt but Stephen was still too shocked to really formulate any real words. "Well?" The annoyance poured in that one word snapped him out of it and Strange looked up.

"I..."


	5. Chapter 5

**Cosmic is Forever**

 **Summary:Set after may have fooled Galactus and left before the Devourer could do anything,but was that the end?If so, then why is there a gold man the Universe is celebrating and the Cabal hunting?**

A month passed by and the Cabal made no move, probably mostly due to Hyperion fearing the Space Knight bearing down on them if they used the Tesseract too soon, or so Thor theorized. They didn't know that the Herald is practically under their noses. Not that the rest of the Avengers were any wiser but at least one person on the team knew what secret Tony was keeping.

Speaking of which, Thor was surprised that the Man of Iron, as he often called his leader, has yet to ask him for help with dealing with his new power. Thor was impressed with the control he had over it as it is, since new powers usually reacted more to emotion than to thought so people had to get used to its very presence, let alone the weight it will put on them as time went by. He knows Tony is an exceptional case, both with the power he received and the amount of control he got over it in such a short amount of time. He will still need to start training with it if he wants to deal with it properly.

"Hey, Thor. Did you see Mr Stark anywhere?" Peter Parker, one of their newest additions, broke him out of his thoughts. The Asgardian turned around and smiled at the upside down teenager, hanging from the ceiling even if he wasn't in costume. Peter was still in the Learning Hall - or school - period of his life and he had just come back from an especially long day of school. As per usual, the first person he sought out was his idol and hero, Tony Stark AKA Iron Man. The kid had almost swooned when Tony said he, and Ant-Man, would be a good addition to the team. He had accepted right away, and even though his jokes were exceptionally bad (Natasha said that they were worse than Haweye's, which earned a n indignant "Hey!" from the archer even if he did agree) he was a sweet kid. Imagine his pleasure when Tony started teaching him jokes! Good ones! Even Thor liked to sit in on their "lessons" and memorise the things that Iron Man said about tact, moment and the finer arts of making jokes.

"Nay, my young friend. I, too, have been searching for him all morning. We have plenty to discuss." The blonde answered just as Steve and Natasha walked into the corridor leading to the lab, obviously on their way to see their resident genius as well. They paused in confusion (although the Black Widow showed nothing on her face) before Steve greeted them and they happily said hello to the good Captain.

"Wow, is there a party going on down here?" Scott said as he stopped talking with Sam and Clint about how to improve his arrowheads without disrupting their aerodynamics, the two scientists sure they can make many adjustments yet Haweye wasn't letting them anywhere near his quiver. He kept telling them that the ideas may sound great but might not actually bee great. He would talk it through with Tony, who has been making him arrows for years now and Clint has never been more satisfied than with Stark's work.

"It can't be. Tony's not here and the bilgesnipe is still in Thor's room. You can't have a real party without a lose bilgesnipe!" Clint told the man with all the seriousness in the world and Nat rolled her eyes.

"It's a sad day when you realise that that would be a normal Avengers party."

"Since when have we been normal? Or had normal things?" Hulk grunted as he joined them in the hallway, carrying his metal mesh blanket that now has a huge tear in it. Everyone raised a eyebrow as they knew Tony made that thing almost indestructible just for Hulk, and the green giant looked somewhat sheepish. "What? I had a restless nap!"

Steve just shook his head. "I'm guessing that we're all down here to see Tony?" When he got a bunch of "well, duh!" expressions aimed at him he scowled but walked over to the lab doors anyway, typing in his code even as the other Avengers talked behind him about why they were there.

"Cap and I just got back from a mission and my Bites got damaged. Also, Steve is finally consenting to that magnet thing Stark has been suggesting for his shield. Turns out, there are situations where even his Vibranium shield doesn't bounce back."

"Forget that, Nat!" Clint said in a whiny voice. "My arrows! Today is the day Tony promised to work on my arrows! I'm supposed to give him requests today!"

"You can do that after he fixes my blanket. Hulk needs some shut eye. All that smashing is a strenuous job." The green one grumbled with a big yawn.

"I still think that I could upgrade your arrows." Was all Sam said but Hawkeye just glared at him.

"I simply wish to speak with the Man of Iron. And possibly humbly request that he fix the toaster." Thor said, his voice booming even when he wasn't shouting in the battlefield.

"I just wanted to say hi," was Peter's mumble and Scott patted the kid on the head. Truth be told, he just wanted to hang out with Tony, too, but the man was always busy. And with a needy team like this, it is really no wonder that there were always bags under his eyes. The man always tried his best for his team but he sometimes wondered if the Avengers even noticed.

"No way is anyone but Tony Stark touching my babies!" Barton hugged said "babies" close to his chest with a dangerous glare on his face. The Black Widow face-palmed and Steve sighed even as the doors to the lab opened. Cap glanced inside and immediately turned to the others, a finger raised in front of his lips. It got everyone's attention and they all went quiet as one of their leaders sneaked into the lab of the other. Clint was quick to follow him in, Natasha shadowing him, the two quieter than the summer breeze. The others exchanged looks and went after them, only to stare at the sight of a sleeping Tony Stark bent over an unfinished project on his work bench. Thor seemed to relax, an unknown part of him having been tense this whole time without even noticing. He had not spotted Tony since yesterday morning, and since Stark had been so shaken up with the whole Cabal encounter, the Asgardian had been in constant fear that he might wander off somewhere to deal with it fully alone, as would be his preference, so to see him resting was a relief.

It was a relief shared with Steve because he was the one to usually hunt the genius down and force him to act like a - somewhat - normal human being. Too bad that he had been busy for a few weeks and it had left him stressing with thoughts of whether the man was eating or sleeping or not. He now has some help in the form of Ant-Man and Spiderman, who have both taken to dragging Tony out of the lab as well. However, they, too, would often need to be dragged out of said lab as they could get as enraptured by one of Tony's projects as much as the man himself. They usually passed out after some time, too exhausted even with such "marvelous science" in front of them, and Tony was often left to his own devices until Steve came in and dragged all three of them out. JARVIS had long since given up, although he still nagged at his creator, on Tony ever eating like a normal person but he could, apparently, knock the man out with a light sedative dart that were installed all around the tower. The AI controlled the amount in each dosage so it could turn into a helpfull security measure as well. Instead, the AI mostly relied on Cap to drag Tony to bed and Steve rarely disappointed, more out of his own worry than anything else.

"That can't be comfortable," Ant-Man was the first to comment, taking in how his friend's head was tilted at a strange angle due to him being sprawled over the strange thing he was working on. It looked like an engine but he has yet to see Stark's famous car collection so he wasn't sure if it was, especially since more than half of the object was covered by the man.

"You have seriously not seen Stark sleep." Clint commented, searching the lab for any threats. It was more by instinct than anything else, as JARVIS was equipped with the best sensory systems and a fierce loyalty to Tony so no threat was likely to get in without raising some alarm. He was even especially protected from Modoc but the Cabal now have the Tesseract and have yet to use it. Skull feels most threatened by Tony - as could be seen in his obsession to kill or incapacitate the man, such as was suggested in his offer to Hammer in the Savage Lands - so he wouldn't be all that surprised if they went after Iron Man first. After all, he knew how to keep a dysfunctional group like the Avengers together, lead them to victory and still be the genius, billionaire, philanthropist that he is while maintaining a huge and successful company like SI. And that's not even mentioning how he could take on gods and monsters - and aliens, can't forget the aliens - in his armors if he put his mind to it. Out of them all, he was the most unpredictable. And, as such, the most dangerous. "Stick around and you'll see the most bizarre sleeping positions known and unknown to man and Asgardians."

"I'm surprised he fell asleep at all," Nat actually even showed her surprise for once, one delicate eyebrow raised towards her hair line. "Usually he can last three days before he either collapses or one of us goes down to make him sleep."

Sam snorted. "Maybe he is too old to hold out to do his job." He nearly screamed in fright when a hand landed on his shoulder and the Avengers turned around to see ... another Tony? This another Tony was half glaring half laughing at them and the Avengers didn't know what to do or think. "Wha?" Falcon got out before the man stopped him.

" _That_ is for calling me old," Tony said in his usual Starkastic way before he gestured to the ... Tony ... laying on his desk. "And this, my friends, is my latest invention." As soon as the words left his mouth, the other Tony flickered out of existence. Hulk, who had been about to poke him, jumped away as the pixels fluttered out of sight and instead out came the schematics for a small device. "I still haven't figured out what to call it yet but it's a trap for the enemy. Or the Cabal."

"Wait, if the Cabal is not the "enemy" then who is?" Peter asked as he came to stand near Tony, obviously fighting the urge to hug him. If they were alone, he wouldn't have resisted but since the others _were_ present ...

Tony adopted the straightest face he could manage. "The paparazzi." The kid blinked at him and Scott and Clint didn't bother containing their laughter, unlike Steve, who covered it up with fake coughing. "I'm dead serious."

"There is something seriously wrong with you."

"Don't underestimate them, Widow. You think HYDRA and AIM are bad?" Iron Man shuddered. "Obviously you've never dealt with a herd of paparazzi after every last bit of your remaining private life."

"Thankfully, I'm not a super rich, super hero of a super genius, who also happens to be the CEO of a super successful international corporation with a team of super heroes staying at his super popular, super visible, super tall tower in the middle of the super busy center of New York." Tony cracked up laughing somewhere at the third 'super' and by the end of it, no one was left without at least a smile on their face.

Tony wiped away a stray tear the laughing fit had caused. "You should be a comedian. You'd be 'super richer' even than me in no time." A smirk was playing at the redhead's lips and Tony smiled at her. "But, seriously. I wouldn't wish paparazzi upon anyone. Not even Justin Hammer."

"Wow." Barton said as he not so subtly placed his quiver and bow on the inventor's desk, obviously claiming first dibs on the genius's attention. "You hate that guy."

"Why do you think I always leave the scene as soon as I can. I answer a few Avengers related questions before I bail out of there like a bat out of hell because they then target me. And I'd rather watch Modoc and Skull making out than stay longer than I need to."

"Eew!" Was the common reaction but Tony just shrugged. It was the damn truth and if they didn't want his opinion then they shouldn't ask for it.

"So what is this, basically?" Lang was the first one to recover from that terrifying mental image and instead focused on the invention. It was bound to be safer than discussing on just how many levels what Tony said was so wrong.

"As I said. It's a trap. You know how you all train with different holograms, right?" A round of nods meets the rhetorical question. "Well, I've been thinking: can we use those same holograms to our advantage in the field as well? The answer I found?" He looked expectantly at Peter and the kid sheepishly blushed as everyone else did, too.

"Um, yes?"

"Bingo!" Tony said with a snap of his fingers before pointing at various parts of the small device and going into techno-babel, as Clint, and really anyone who has heard him talking about engineering, calls it. Even Scott had a hard time keeping up and he was actually interested in the subject of debate. Peter was still nodding along and Sam had to give him credit: he himself was a big Iron Man/Tony Stark fan and had quite a high IQ, if he may say so himself, but even he tended to tune him out after a certain amount of words leaves his mouth. The only one Peter had left to compete with, at least for the moment anyway, was Steve. Steve, who was always interested in anything and everything modern but even more so if it was Tony who was saying it. A dark scowl quickly settled on Falcon's face before it smoothed out but four people still saw the shift.

"But how did you make it so small?" Spiderman asked, wanting to keep his hero talking and hoping he wouldn't notice that one moment of hostility coming from the other armor user. He kept his eye on Falcon, not at all liking that brief flash of ... something on his face a few moments ago.

Tony just looked at him. "Out of all of the questi- JARVIS, bring up the full, life sized display of the tower's Arc Reactor from the time before Afghanistan." He had taken a second to pause before saying the name of the country and Steve had flinched at the mention of it for him. Natasha only pulled her lips into a tin line but didn't react otherwise.

"Right away, Sir." Even JARVIS was clearly concerned about his creator because of the mention of Afghanistan and the AI estimated that there would be no sleep for Sir tonight. The holographic image filled out the room, making the Avengers gasp as they realized that they were practically standing _in_ the image of the reactor itself. They turned and turned and saw that even Tony's immense workshop would be quite a tight fit. The genius only gestured at the huge energy source. "I managed to miniaturize _this_ in a god damned _cave_. With a _box of scraps_. It's kinda my thing, you know? Making things smaller but ten times more efficient."

Clint couldn't hold back an impressed whistle. "No wonder my arrows are no challenge to you. Speaking of-"

"Oh no you don't!" Natasha said and nearly pushed Clint into a very expensive machine which Dum-E, one of Tony's earlier creations and helper bots, fussed with until he made sure it wouldn't topple over. "My Bites first. I need them upgraded and fixed since I have a mission tomorrow."

"Oh yeah? So do I!" Hawkeye argued right back. "Tony asked me to help him in some secret mission regarding some guy, Tiberius Stone. Me, Ant-Man and Spidey over there were going to go as his backup."

"Really?" Peter excitedly asked as he nearly lunged for Tony, who almost bumped into Thor when the kid startled him.

"Really? Tony, Tiberius Stone is just one of your competitors. Not even SHIELD has a single piece of dirt on that guy." The super spy said while crossing her arms and jutting out one hip.

Tony mimicked her stance. "I know Ty better than anyone and I fear that he's either somehow willingly involved with the Cabal or they are using or threatening him. We may no longer be on the best of terms but we were friends once. And former or not, I don't allow my friends to meet the business end of the Cabal's smoking guns. Or bleeding gums, in one case."

"So it has nothing to do with the new flight stabilizer product his company just published?" She challenged still.

"It has absolutely nothing to do with it, especially since it was a joint project of both out companies."

Widow stalled. "I didn't know that..."

"Because it's the company secret, only meant to be revealed after tomorrow's presentation. It's what we're using as a cover story to go to Switcherland-"

"Whoa, hold on Tony." Steve interrupted, coming up beside him, Thor and Pete. "Do you really think now is the time to split us up? The Cabal have the Tesseract and are hunting for the new, mysterious Herald of Galactus AKA Space Knight. We're at a huge disadvantage so we don't need to add splitting up to the list. Or possible injuries."

"Cap, it's fine." Stark said as he placed both hands on the super soldier's wide, strong shoulders. "We're not going to be there long. In fact, we'll probably head back in the noon. I just need to talk to Tiberius. I know him well enough to recognize and suspicious behavior. Besides, JARVIS will he hacking his systems and gathering information as soon as we land." Tony stared into Steve's eyes and the good captain couldn't help but give in. "I promise we'll be back before you know it."

"If you say so. But if you end up in trouble-"

"You're just a phone call away." The inventor smiled and Steve felt his breathing hitch just as the Avengers alarm sounded off.

"Sir, there is a hostage situation at the bank." JARVIS dutifully reported the whole situation.

"Then why are we being called?" Hawkeye asked even as he was preparing his arrows.

"It is AIM, Sir." The AI answered. ''They have a hundred hostages. And there are readings of the Tessaract's power there.''


	6. Chapter 6

**Cosmic is Forever**

 **Summary:Set after may have fooled Galactus and left before the Devourer could do anything,but was that the end?If so, then why is there a gold man the Universe is celebrating and the Cabal hunting?**

It didn't take long for them to assemble and get to the scene. That was a good thing. The bad thing was the sight that waited for them. AIM goons armed with dangerous Tesseract-enhanced guns greeted them with a wave of constant fire that only stopped due to Thor's lightning. A second wave was prepared, however, and it got the Asgardian knocked out of the sky. The Avenjet was the next in the line of fire and Natasha just barely managed to save the flight craft from falling on a busy bus stop. After they couldn't get the thing out of the air, AIM goons turned to firing on Tony and Sam as they flew overhead, firing back at their enemies. Peter nearly got killed by one of the shots coming his way, but Ant-Man had seen it before him so he had fired his Pym-Particle gun and shrunk the teen until he was small enough for one of his flying and to catch and carry him. When he was turned back to normal, Spiderman returned the favor by pushing the scientist out of the way of another blast that had been aimed for his head by a beekeeper.

"Cap, on your six. Three guys with a really big gun." Hawkeye called from his perch on a tall building, firing arrow after arrow and dodging the incoming attacks, abandoning one roof after another as he called shots and directions for the other Avengers. Captain America barely had the time to bring up his shield to protect himself and the mother and son he had been evacuating before the blast hit him. He grunted as he bore its force but the shot just kept on pushing and just as he thought that he'll be thrown back, exposing his charges to the deadly ray, Hulk landed behind the AIM soldiers and hit them into the side of the brick building on the other side of the city block. "You're welcome," the green guy said before Steve could even open his mouth and was off, running towards the newly arrived AIM Tesseract-enhanced robots.

Not far away, Natasha was doing her best to defend the still disoriented Thor as the blond thunder god tried to get back to his feet. He had always known that the Power Cosmic stored in the cube was great and that weapons made from its energies were very dangerous, even to him, but he had never guessed the extent of it. He looked up towards the sky just in time to see Tony turning to block an incoming blast from a blind spot and the Asgardian had to wonder if it were his sensors or his new senses that had tipped him off about the attack. He knew it wasn't Barton as the man was now yelling at Scott where to shove it because the newbie was in the way of a good shot. Beside him, Natasha rolled her eyes as she ordered Ant-Man to shrink before her partner got even more annoying about it.

Flying up to Tony, Sam took out three guns with his flashets and blocked a hit that almost had him out of the sky as he talked with his mentor. "There's no way they're here just for the money! Do you keep anything in bank safes?"

"Stopped doing that after I was nine, so no. And they really _could_ be just after the money. Even they have expenses and bills to pay." The genius commented as he blasted at another bundle of AIM agents. Seeing that they weren't going to scatter, Tony activated his missals and fired, blowing them sky high.

"Now isn't the time for jokes, Iron Man!" Falcon snapped, hissing as he barely dodged on more attack.

"It wasn't a joke. Modok may lead AIM towards a "better" future that they will dictate through superior technology or some other jazz like that, but their projects also require funding. Since not even Justin Hammer is stupid enough to support organizations like AIM or HYDRA financially, they have no other option but to steal. Case and point," a red metal gloved hand pointed towards the group of eight AIM lackeys running out of the bank with two big bags of money on each of their backs, Modok floating out of the building right behind them, the Super Adaptiod at his side like a loyal, obedient puppy. "AIM and Modok."

"I'll have to agree with Shellhead on this one." Natasha, who had left Thor's side when he had fully recovered, said over the comms. "I'm inside the building and there doesn't seem to be anything else that they have taken."

"The ants I sent in there say that the personal safes are untouched." Scott added, throwing a pebble at the AIM goons and then amplifying its size with his gun full of Pym Particles. "No hostages, either. But many, unfortunate, casualties."

"Then we'll have to do our best to keep the casualties on the outside as minimal as we can." Steve said from his side of the battlefield, facing down one of the robots that had miraculously escaped Hulk's rampage range and had been heading towards where they had stashed the civilians. "Battle stations, Avengers! We're going to execute plan Alpha-three-zerargh!"

"Cap!" The rest of the Avengers yelled at his grunt of pain, their blood going cold as they heard the familiar evil laughter of Red Skull.

"You dropped your guard there, Captain. How very unlike you." They heard a grunt and a wheeze following that statement and Tony was off before any of them could react more than calling the genius's name in wain. "And now it will cost you your life."

Tony arrived just in time to use his unibeam and Red Skull grunted as he flew back a few feet. Not taking any chances, Tony fired another unibeam attack, combined with repulsors and rockets but Skull drew up a shield the same color as the Tesseract and Iron Man's weapons were wiped out of existence. While this was happening, Steve had gotten up to his feet and was now holding up his shield, ready to continue the fight. Skull looked like he wanted to continue fighting with the two greatest annoyances in his life and finally deal with them once and for all, bud Modok's call stopped him.

"We have what we came here for, Skull. Let's get out of here. We don't have any time to waste." With one last glare at the two Avengers, Red Skull allowed Modok to teleport them away to where ever they now held base. They had more important things to deal with.

"Everyone okay?" Tony asked over the comms, frowning at the results his scanners were showing him of Cap. The super soldier won't be good for the field for quite a few days, which was really not good. Not with Tony leaving the country tomorrow. Out of all who were staying, Steve would have been the only one he would have entrusted the command of the team with. Hulk was Hulk, Thor was an Asgardian and often forgot human limits, Natasha best worked alone and Sam was too inexperienced to lead a group like the Avengers. Not that the three he was taking with him would be any better as leaders. There was a reason Scott stuck with ants and Peter was even younger than Sam. Hawkeye would have probably been their best bet, actually, since he already called shots out on the field from his high perch. The only problem would be that Clint sucked at making plans before going to battle.

This left Tony with no choice. Placing a hand on the tired Captain America's shoulder, Tony began exchanging energies, the negative effect of the Power Cosmic's destructive side being replaced with his own Power Cosmic's creation/restoration properties in order to help the super soldier serum along. Truth be told, Steve would have never recovered fully if Tony weren't to do this. Nothing man-made can counter the Power Cosmic, no matter what others would like to believe. That power is absolute, the creating and devastating force of the Univers that gives it birth and brings it destruction.

"Fine." Hulk grunted over the comms.

"I'm good." Scott reported as he checked on his ants.

"A little sore but good Mr Stark."

"You really need to work on my arrows, Shellhead." A smack is heard. "Ow!"

"He's fine, and so am I." Black Widow reported with an eye roll at her partner.

"Aye! We are fine, friend Tony."

"Yeah." Sam added as they slowly made their way towards where Cap and Iron Man were. "You guys okay?"

Steve grunted. "A little worse for wear but good." He could already feel the super serum getting to work and he was aware that his injuries will soon be nothing but faint bruises that will be gone in the morning. Had it not been for Tony, he would have been a goner. It was one more reason to not like Tony going to Switzerland tomorrow. He had kinda been hoping that he would feel a lot worse so that the man would have to stay for the Avengers but that is selfish. Tony couldn't stay with them all the time and his company needs him tomorrow.

They can get pass one day without him, surely, right? Who was he kidding. The Tower will be in rubble if Tony really does stay away a whole day. He still remembers the messes they got into when Thor smacked Hulk down to Earth from the Moon hard enough for him to lose his memories and they had to deal without Iron Man for half the day. It hadn't been Tony's fault he was needed out in the open sea but still.

"You're sure you're okay, Steve?" Sam insisted as they came into view. Despite what Steve was trying to sell, they could all see just how much damage Skull's newly upgraded repulsors have caused. Sure, there was no blood but half of Steve's chest was now exposed, his uniform destroyed from the powerful blast. If the blast had been more powerful, it would have erased Steve from existence, so that means that the Red Skull had only wanted to cause him pain.

The good Capitan waved him off as he put his shield on his back. ''I've had worse.'' And never say that Steve Rogers, America's Golden Boy, doesn't lie. He wasn't about to tell the others just how much it hurt to move or even breath right now, even though the serum had managed to get the worst of it healed. Of course, he could see that Tony wasn't buying it, but then again, he doesn't know that it was Tony who had tried to ease the process for the serum and it seemed to have worked, if only a little bit. At least Steve won't end up being a cripple, even if he will have an ugly scar there.

"That, however, doesn't mean that you're off the hook for SHIELD medical. You look like a truck ran over you." Iron Man said, leaving no room for arguments. Steve did try to protest but Tony just flipped up his faceplate and gave him such a 'I'm-not-shitting-with-you-so-you-better-listen-and-listen-good-because-I'll-say-it-only-once-and-I-expect-you-to-obey' look that the complaints died on his tongue, not even half formed before they were shot down. It was a look the billionaire rarely used but one that no one could disobey. Even Natasha gave in to that look.

As if they were summoned by his mention of them, SHIELD agents started pouring out of black vans and helicopters, getting to work almost before their feet were on the ground. Fury strolled past them all until he came to stand right in front of the Avengers, looking them up and down and wondering just what was used against them when even Thor and Hulk looked bruised. The good Captain's wounds spoke for themselves and they didn't exactly paint a nice story. Fury wondered if he should just turn around, walk away and pretend that this whole trip hadn't happened.

But it had and some of his Avengers were hurt. He watched as Stark made Rogers sit through an examination and wondered when their roles have reversed. Natasha and Clint were doing the same for each other, as they always have and always will, since neither really cared or admitted to personal injuries but they worried about their partner and closest friend. The Hulk only got an ointment while Thor said it was fine and that it will fade before this evening. Spiderman got the cut on his arm cleaned while Ant-Man seemed to only have a few bruises himself. When they were all done with the medical, Fury called them back to the Avengers Tower and then they followed him straight into one of the conference rooms they always used for debriefing.

''Avengers,'' Fury began as they settled, Hawkeye whining about his broken purple sunglasses as he pulled another pair from on of his pockets. ''I'm afraid to say that you have been slacking in the past couple of weeks. It started with the Tesseract and now tis happened. There are over 50 dead bodies in that bank, all civilians. It's all over the news and they're not saying anything pretty. We need damage control, like, yesterday!''

''Relax, Fury, I already wrote a check to the mayor to fix the streets and I will be personally giving my support to the unfortunate families as soon as I learn who are the victims.''

Fury rounded on Stark as soon as the man opened his mouth, a fierce scowl on his face that never seemed to deter Tony. In the rare times Howard was home and he got angry at him, he was far scarier than Fury could ever imagine. Besides, he fought gods, monsters and aliens on a daily basis. What did he have to fear from a scowling pirate? And that annoyed Fury like nothing else could. ''That's not the type of damage support I was talking about, Stark. You have all become reckless, you lack the teamwork we envisioned for a group like you-''

''Now hold it right there!'' Clint didn't even let him finish. ''I'll have you know that we are the best damn team out there. The only reason we've been 'slacking', as you say, is because they have the damn Tesseract pointed at our heads and at the entirety of the city! We can't just- You can't just- It's not like-''

''What Hawkeye is trying to say, Director,'' Natasha cut in since Clint didn't seem to know how to express himself. ''Is that you can't expect us to fight the Tesseract, since we know so little about it other than that it's one of the most powerful artifacts in the Universe. In fact, the only thing we really know about it is that it's shaped as a cube, it stores the Power Cosmic, it is an unlimited power source and is currently in the Cabal's greedy hands.''

''That sounds like a lot more information than we had on Stark when we first began working on him, yet that was a success and your last fight was, in fact, an epic fail.'' Tony flinched at the mention of his name while Steve scowled at the criticism.

''We did our best, Director Fury-''

''Well, your best wasn't enough today, Rogers!'' The one-eyed man didn't even let him finish. ''Many people died and as a result, the Avengers will lose favor with the people. The politicians already don't like us and now that they have a concrete reason to doubt our ability to keep the world safe-''

''But we saved them a thousand times over!'' Sam yelled and was promptly ignored.

''If we don't get our heads together, we will lose all rights to stay in this city. Now, I've spoken with the president, who has spoken with other presidents and prime ministers all over the world, and a decisions been made. I'm not really happy about it myself, so I have no doubt you all will be mighty pissed off by what I'm about to say. Just remember, please don't kill the messenger.''

Now they were curious and a feeling of dread and fear was creeping up their bodies because Fury so rarely said please and the whole 'don't kill the messenger' line had never been used before, no matter how bad the situation had been. How bad, exactly, could the situation be?

''Well, don't just leave us hanging, man, Out with it!'' Scott, who had no tact whatsoever, said impatiently. He was tired and he just wanted to go to sleep after he buried his poor ants that had fallen in this battle. Sure, the numbers were small if put in proportion with how many ants he has all around the city, but that didn't change the fact that some of them had been with him since his very first day as Ant-Man, when Hank Pym told him he considered him to be a worth successor of his legacy. The old man, for he was pushing past his seventies, was the first person to be really kind to him and give him a chance despite his record and so Scott always did his best to do him proud. Maybe he should visit him the first ''day off'he gets. He hasn't seen him in a few years now.

Fury took one long look around the table and sighed. ''The World Council wants the Avengers to have a new leader in Iron Man's place.''

''WHAT?!'' Came the all too expected outburst, the tension in the room skyrocketing faster than the Avenjet at full speed. Tony sat stiff as a board, his expression flickering to shock before it was wiped clean as if there had never been a trace of emotion on his face in his whole life. And if that didn't make Fury hate the Council even more, he wasn't sure what would. He knew all about Stark's past, having been close friends and coworker with Howard Stark and Director Carter. He just wished the ,man before him had more confidence in himself than the kid he had met a few times, but the world seemed intent on showing Tony Stark that he wasn't needed, wouldn't be missed and wasn't irreplaceable.

''They want a leader that has had military training-''

''I gave command to Tony for a very good reason, Fury. No one can lead the Avengers like he can.'' Steve put in before the man could finish, very much angered with this turn of events.

'' _Proper_ military training.'' The Director of SHIELD said as he rubbed his aching forehead in hopes of alleviating his headache a little. ''They want someone who went to the Military Academy, through proper army training and has risen through ranks for his leadership skills. If he ever came into contact with Stark Industries weapons, he would be perfect. We have a suspicion who they might chose, as he has followed similar orders once before-''

He stopped when Tony stood up with a thunderous expression on his face and some of the Avengers had to repress flinches or gaping mouths as they have never seen such fury in the genius's eyes before. They never had the chance, as nothing angered the man as much as anyone trying to get their grubby little hands on his weapons, which he had bought back and wasn't planning on selling ever again. ''You can tell the World Council that they can go fuck themselves, those damn ass-hats, and that Colonel James Rhodes will never again set eyes on any of the SI weapons, the Iron Man armors least of all.'' He hissed through clenched teeth with such venom dripping from his voice, Thor wouldn't be surprised if the table and floor melted through.

''Stark, as far as I'm concerned, there is no one who could be a better Iron Man than you, since you know the armor inside and out, but I can't do anything here. My hands are tied! If we don't follow through with a trail run, at the very least, you could be declared an enemy to the country and the Avengers would get either disbanded or set after you.'' Fury tried to explain but he knew it was hopeless. Stark was adamant on his weapons staying under his watch and there was almost no doubt in Fury's mind that the World Council will order Rhodes to at least steal schematics.

Tony seemed to be thinking this over before he nodded, much to everyone's shock. ''Alright, a trail run it is. I'll be out of the country tomorrow anyway, might as well deal with everything else now, too. My board of directors has been fussing over some things for over a month now, I guess I might as well solve the problem for them, the lazy assholes. I'll be on standby and the only armor that Colonel Rhodes will have access to will be the War Machine one, and he better not try anything because JARVIS has full clearance to eject him in mid flight if he tries to take my tech to the military science division or anywhere else for that matter. I'm giving you a week for this, so don't wreck my Tower too much.''

''Tony, this is bullshit and you know it!'' Clint said as he stood as well. ''There's only one leader of the Avengers and that's Iron Man, and Iron Man can only be Tony Stark.''

''Cap will be there as a medium between the army folks and you guys and SHIELD, I'm sure, can handle the PR, just don't blow New York up because only SI has a good enough PR department to deal with that.''

''Tony, you can't do this.'' It was, surprisingly enough, Natasha who protested. She stood up elegantly, a glare on her face but actual concern on her face. ''The Cabal is out there, with the Tesseract, looking for the new Herald of Galactus and we all know that when they can't get straight to what they want, they will do something else to aggravate us or further their plans. And the greatest possibility of that right now would be eliminating you. You know that the Red Skull is now more obsessed with you than he will ever again be with Steve. You're in danger. What if you don't have a suit nearby-''

''He'll have us, remember!'' Peter pipped up. ''We're going with him tomorrow.''

Before the redhead could subtly relax, Tony shook his head. ''This changes our plans. I'll be taking care of Tyberious Stone on my own. You guys will have a stiff, stuck up military man to please.''

''What!? No way are we letting you go without us!'' Long got up and glared at the slightly taller man. Tony crossed his arms and glared right back. ''Black Widow has a point. We have no idea what they are planing with the cube, nor why they want the Herald, but we know for sure that Skull won't hesitate to take the chance to take you our of the picture for good. Cutting the head and all that jazz.''

''Scott, until tomorrow morning, I am still the leader of this team, and as your leader, I am asking you to let this go. I'm not going to order it, I am asking it. Please don't make things any more complicated than they already are.''

''Then at least take _someone_ with you!''

''JARVIS is always with me.'' The genius shot back and Sam had to repress an eye roll.

''He meant someone who can get you out of a possible sticky situation. JARVIS is great and all that, but he's still a program with no physical form. How's he to get you out of a prison that maybe doesn't have a computerized defense system? Or if Modok was the one who was keeping you prisoner.''

''JARVIS, make daddy proud.'' As soon as those words left Tony's mouth, all of the many Iron Man armors flew in, maneuvering with almost the same precision as Tony would. They all gawked at the sight as Tony explained. ''JARVIS helped me create these beauties and if anyone, besides myself, could steer them like a pro, it's J. If I get into a pinch, I know JARVIS, as my copilot, will be able to help me.''

''You rally thought of all possible scenarios before agreeing to this, haven't you.'' Scott will never case to be amazed with the speed of this man's thoughts. A computer wouldn't be able to keep up with him. Well, JARVIS would, but no other computer could, he was sure.

''If I'm going to be away and leave you in the care of someone who knows nothing about you, I might as well be prepared to be needed for saving you in three days time.'' Tony shrugged and Thor frowned.

''You think we couldn't last without you for an entire week?'' The blond god challenged and Tony rolled his eyes.

''You could, but there's always the off chance that you might need me. I'm sure that between Scott, Peter and Sam you'll have enough genius and with Clint enough sarcasm to last you the time I won't be around but what about tech support. I guess SHIELD could cover that. On second thought, I'll finish all of your weapons upgrades tonight, that should last you the week...'' And with that, Tony walked off, leaving Fury in a room full of pissed Avengers.

Shit.


	7. Chapter 7

**Cosmic is Forever**

 **Summary:Set after may have fooled Galactus and left before the Devourer could do anything,but was that the end?If so, then why is there a gold man the Universe is celebrating and the Cabal hunting?**

The next morning, there was not a happy Avenger in the Tower.

They had all gathered to say bye to Tony and greet the new temporary leader of the Avengers, who Stark and Fury were right to be one Colonel James Rhodes. The military man arrived just as the farewells were taking place and on seeing him, Tony suddenly hid his genuine smile and replaced it with the one he reserved for the press. Rhodes saw it but didn't say anything. They were on way too shaky grounds to ever be friends again. It was all his fault but he wasn't about to beg the younger man for forgiveness.

Still, he had to be polite so he offered a hand for him to shake in greeting. "Mr Stark."

Tony didn't take the offered hand and even the fake smile fell off of his face, leaving the feared businessman that had taken the business world by a storm. " If you value your life, you won't try taking away my tech as JARVIS is more than authorized and ready to stop you however he sees fit in that moment. On another note, if you don't want me to come knocking on your, or the Senate's door, with nuclear weapons in my pocket, treat my team like they deserve. Go through my projects and they'll never be able to find your body. Get one of them killed and not even God will recognize you after I'm done with you. Is this perfectly clear?"

Rhodes couldn't hold back a shiver of fear as he came face to face with a persona Tony had discarded after Afghanistan. It only surfaced every now and then, when someone he considered precious was endangered. Once upon a time, he was in that tight circle but he has made his choice and he'll have to live with his decision. "Crystal, Mr Stark." He grit out and Tony glared at his once upon a time best friend before waving to the Avengers and heading for the garage, where a limo was waiting to take him to the airport.

James looked around the Avengers Tower a little better, recognizing certain features that were attributed to solely Tony Stark, but he also saw a few details he and Pepper had once placed so Tony could have a part of them with him all the time. The Tower had still been in construction yet they had thought that they would forever be welcome in the genius's life. They never thought that they would make such asses of themselves that Tony would severe all ties. How wrong and naive they have been, just a couple of years back. How arrogant they were to be so sure that Tony will always allow their crap to continue. How stupid they were to think Tony Stark didn't have back up plans for such scenarios.

The clearing of a throat had him snapping out of his memories of the good old days when they had been walking on eggshells around Tony and the younger man would just tease them about it. Times that are long gone now. Another not so subtle (or tactful) clearing of a throat made him look away from the penthouse apartment of the Avengers Tower and had him facing the actual Avengers. It was Clint, of course, who has been trying to get his attention and Rhodes counted heads, noticing that they were one giant green head short.

"Where is the Hulk?" And he could practically feel them deducting points from his already pitiful score, in their eyes that is. He knows they're bound to not like if, if not outright hate him for being Tony's possible replacement and that's going to be hard enough to deal with without wondering where a green, rage monster was rampaging off to.

"Yeah, you see... He's pissed enough as it is, as it is the Doc's week and he had been planning to spend most of it with Tony. Now that you're supposed to be the leader and Tony's supposed to step back so we can "bond"," and wasn't sarcasm just dripping like venom from his words as he made air quotes with his fingers. "Better as a team, Bruce doesn't get his week of relaxing, wonderful, mind-boggling science until this time in three months. He ain't a happy camper right now, so please do go bother him."

And wasn't it a scary thought that they would send him to the Hulk so that the guy would rip him to shreds just because it will bring Tony back? Rhody frowned as he realized he wasn't acting like the commander he was supposed to be and he straightened his back a little, scowling at the blond man. ''Well, that's too bad. This is how things will be from now on so you all better get used to it. I won't stand for insubordination.''

Clint sneered at him. ''Well, I see you'll die by tomorrow either by our hand or because we won't save your butt from our enemies. If you know what's good for you, don't come anywhere near my room. I like practicing and an arrow might ... slip through my fingers.'' The others followed the stalking off Hawkeye and Fury sighed. He had known this was going to be difficult, but he had never thought it would be this bad.

''Just ... give them time and try not to die.'' He told the younger man before he left, ignoring Rhodes's spluttering. After all, he had to return to the Drycarrier and make his own bets in the already organized betting pool. He was giving him three days while most were betting that he will either leave screaming within the hour or last the week but end up in a mental hospital. Knowing the Avengers, both was more than likely to happen.

Rhody watched as his last hope to learn how to deal with the Avengers just left without giving him any tips on how to deal with them. If he had longer hair, he would be running s frustrated hand through it. Or tearing it out. Maybe it was better that his hair was the way it was. As things were, it might have even started falling out if these guy continued to make things difficult for him. Well, he guessed he'd have to get used to it.

Besides, he had dealt with Tony Stark for ages, from teen years to his debuted as Iron Man. He was sure these guys couldn't be worse than a bipolar, moody, brilliant teenage Tony Stark.

00000

He was right. Tony was much worse, even if there were currently seven Avengers driving him up the wall.

He had went searching for Bruce and had found himself in Tony's lab, where the other genius was staring sullenly at the schematics of a project the billionaire was probably supposed to help him with. It would seem Bruce Banner, otherwise known as the Hulk, didn't think science was as fun if his, what was it Tony called them? Ah, yes. It obviously wasn't as fun without his 'science bro'. He made sure not to sneak up on him but Bruce didn't acknowledge him even after clearing his throat. And when he tapped the man on the shoulder, green glowing eyes stared back at him from beyond the glasses. That was all the warning he would get and so Rhody had hightailed it out of there, not caring if that made him look as a weak leader.

He would like to see anyone try and be brave in front of the Hulk and tell him to stop sulking. At least, without being a demigod, super soldier, super spy or a man in a tin can that can withstand said green rage monster.

It would later occur to him that Tony still did this on a daily basis, with and without his armor.

He had sought out Natasha next, knowing that the Russian was most likely not to care about a shift in command. Well, he was dead wrong. The Black Widow had grown to trust Iron Man, and Natasha Romanov was on the same path with Anthony Edward Stark, even though hesitant. She had grown accustomed to his type of command, how everyone could be a commander and a soldier and she didn't like this change where there was to be only one commander. It reminded her of both project Red Room and of how things worked at SHIELD. To her, the Avengers were far from either of those and she hated thinking that what she had called home and family will become a base and a troop. Needless to say, Rhody understood why they were all afraid of her when she was casually talking to him while firing perfect shots without looking at her targets. Forget the Hulk, how had Tony dealt with her!?

He tried finding Peter, as he thought the kid was least likely to kill him, only Peter had locked himself in his room like all moody teenagers had a right to and he didn't want to talk with Rhody. When he tried searching for Ant-Man, Scott Lang was nowhere to be found. James gathered up courage and asked JARVIS where he was and then had to wait five uncomfortable minutes until the AI answered. (Tony had warned the Avengers that JARVIS will be focusing on helping him crack the mysterious side business Tyberious was somehow involved with and that he will mostly just be checking in on them and that his responses will be delayed. It would seem he and Tony had gotten to work already, or the AI was just as pissed at him as the Avengers were. Both are equally possible.) When the AI finally responded, Rhody cautiously went towards Tony's lab. As the last time, he saw only a moody Bruce, so he asked JARVIS again, not moving away from the lab doors. He got the same answer.

"Mr Lang is indeed in Sir's lab." JARVIS didn't answer him a third time so Rhody peeked in. He was surprised to see Bruce talking with the table but then it occurred to him that Scott must have shrunk himself to avoid Rhodes. The replacement leader of the Avengers sighed and wondered how Tony did this every day. Then again, they probably weren't like this with him. They were just being difficult because they could.

When he went searching for Thor, his bilgsnipe nearly scared the life out of him. The blond thunderer was nowhere to be found so Rhody went searching for Cap. He remembered Clint's not so subtle threat and he wasn't suicidal enough to test the irritated archer. He would rather live, thanks.

He found the good Captain where he had thought him to be, in other words, in the gym. He was training with one of the reinforced punching bags Tony always made for him but he ended up breaking anyway while Sam was running on the treadmill and talking with the blond. Rogers would say something back every now and then but was mostly grunting, more focused on his training than on making conversation. He remembered what Fury had told him about the Avengers before they had come to live at the Tower. Steve had sunk himself into training so that he wouldn't have to think about the past he was no longer a part of. He was downright depressed and had definite signs of PTSD, which all seemed to vanish sometime after he met Tony Stark for the first time. It was one of the reasons kept close to the genius, Fury had explained. He kept Cap's thoughts, fears and demons away. Rhody hadn't quite believed it at first, but he could see that it was probably true now.

Despite that, he knew that the team will have to get used to him. In this week he was given as a trail run, he had to earn their respect and trust. It was for his country, he kept telling himself, so he wouldn't lose his nerve and chicken out. Because, really, he had no doubt every single person in this tower could kill him with their pinky and not break a sweat. How did Tony live like this?

As soon as they saw him, they paused in their training, causing Sam to fly into the wall behind him since he had forgotten he was on the treadmill. James cast him a glance and wondered how this kid had gotten into contact with Tony, who had become even less trusting after what happened between them. An awkward silence descended upon the room and Rhody resisted the urge to fidget before clearing his throat.

''Um, hi. Sorry if I was disturbing your training, I just thought it would be ... best, if I got to know you all.'' Steve actually looked as if he wanted to turn him down and resume demolishing the few bags that remained for his training today before shaking his head and forcing a smile to come on. Rhody was surprised it was that strained, as he had heard that the blond was a friendly sort, but he guessed he was worrying about their time away from Tony and if the genius will be forced to stay away forever. ''That is, only if you want!'' He found himself blurting out, not really wanting to be in such a tense room any longer than needed. Seriously, this was a lot more stressful than he had thought it to be, and they have yet to fight anyone.

''You're right. We need to learn how to work together, and that's best accomplished if we get to know each other. I'll call the others and we will have a lunch gathering a little later. In the meanwhile, would you like to join us for training?''

Rhody relaxed slightly and would have answered affirmative had the Tower's alarms not gone on right at that moment. ''Captain Rogers, the Masters of Evil are robbing a bank again.''

''Thanks, JARVIS. Please alert the others and we'll be out in a few.'' Steve told the AI,who didn't answer but obviously did as he was told as soon after, everyone met in the living room, suited up and ready to go. It felt weird but cool to be in the War Machine armor again, even though the Avengers would look in his direction, frown and stop whatever was about to come out of their mouths and turn away from him again. However, he wasn't going to let that bother him. This was his chance to prove himself to both his superiors and to the Avengers as a competent leader and a loyal soldier of his country. He will earn their trust.

''Avengers, let's head out.'' They all stared at him for a moment, as if he had just grown a second head or the armor had turned neon pink and he couldn't help but snap. ''What!?''

Cap cleared his throat before the others could say anything. ''Avengers Assemble.''


	8. Chapter 8

**Cosmic is Forever**

 **Summary:Set after may have fooled Galactus and left before the Devourer could do anything,but was that the end?If so, then why is there a gold man the Universe is celebrating and the Cabal hunting?**

The fight had been a disaster in the lightest words used to describe it. They couldn't work together like they usually would in the new formation Rhody gave them. Since Bruce had been pissed when he had turned back into the Hulk, he had ran off before anyone could give him directions and had engaged Goliath. They had destroyed two blocks before Thor had tugged the green one away from the villain. They lost their communications because of Screaming Mimi's screaming, so they had to yell across the battlefield. Hawkeye nearly got buried under a building and Natasha broke her wrist, benching her for the next three weeks, if they lacked luck. They were lucky Spiderman and Ant-Man had managed to think up a new plan and the kid had tied up their opponents in his web before anymore damage could be done to the streets. Luckily, no civilians were hurt.

And as if insult to injury, some kids had ran up to the Avengers, asking questions or requesting autographs. Of course, the reporters weren't far behind them, surrounding the heroes and asking various questions Tony would usually answer. The men left it to Natasha, as she was the least likely to drag them into the mud by answering something wrong or saying something stupid, which earned them a Black Widow glare. And with each question asked, Natasha realized why Tony hated paparazzi.

When one kid asked for ''Iron Man's'' autograph, Rhody bent down, flipped open his faceplate and smiled at the kid. To his surprise, the boy burst into tears, bawling and screaming. It got the reporters's attention and like the vermin that they are, they immediately snatched up the opportunity and attacked the Avengers with questions of where their team leader currently was. And as the group tried to answer anything without dooming themselves, Rhody decided to make things worse.

''I am the new leader of the Avengers, as was requested by the president and the Senat.'' That had gotten them an even greater uproar and the ''new leader of Avengers'' got bombarded with all sorts of questions, most of which later earned them a severe scolding from SHIELD's PR team and Fury. The glares the heroes were sending the Lieutenant were enough to kill a man.

''Not only was it irresponsible,'' Cap was saying some hours later as they all rode the elevator back to the penthouse in the Avengers Tower. ''But it was reckless! Do you know how many villains is now probably thinking that they will have a better chance at taking us down? Red Skull will have a picnic!''

''Or maybe they won't dare attack now that they know there is a firmer commander of the Avengers.'' Rhody retorted and Clint shoved an arrow into his face.

''Just give me an excuse. Please.''

Nat put a hand on her partner's shoulder. ''What Clint is trying to say is that, based on today's performance, they won't think we've improved, that we've upgraded, but rather downgraded. You need to think more like an Avenger and less like a corporal, because we are not soldiers.''

''And that's something you will have to get used to.'' Scott hissed at him and Rhody put on his best glare. Ant-Man simply used his belt to make himself a little taller than the other man and looked down at him from his new height. The ant lover then left, intent on using Tony's lab like the genius did most: to hide away from annoying people and from the world. Rhody looked back at Natasha but she was already gone. Sighing, the man went to explore a little, as he really didn't know what to do. He would have to write report about his first day with the team and send it by eight tonight, but he really didn't feel like it. He was still wondering how the hell Tony could manage all of this. He had just started today and he was already sick of it, if he was honest. The Avengers were just like he was told they were: a ticking time bomb waiting to explode and Clint was indeed the fuse. Tick tick tick, boom.

In his wandering thoughts, Rhody found himself in the meeting room, where he was surprised to find the consul active with Steve standing right there, looking relaxed yet agitated as he talked to the man that had left this very morning. Tony looked tired but happy to see his friend. It hurt to know that the man had once greeted him with such expressions, before he seriously messed up. But that was in the past. What was done was done and it can't be changed.

"I don't know what to do, Tony." James nearly jumped out of his skin upon hearing the wariness in the blond super soldier's voice. He leaned in, ready to listen to what was bothering the supposedly perfect Captain America so he could give subtle advice later. This could be his chance to be accepted. "You knew this would happen yet you left. We're falling apart and we've made fools of ourselves this morning. Colonel Rhodes might be a great commander for soldiers, army men, you know? But he's _not_ well suited for leading the Avengers. We won't stand a chance against the Cabal if we keep fighting like this."

~Yeah, I saw that. Yikes. You guys smell so bad that I could smell you all the way from here. You gotta tell Rhody to get his head in the game and fast, or you really _will_ end up in some trouble.~ Tony said with a pained looking expression on his face, making Steve all but pout. The genius chuckled at his friend's reaction and the blond relaxed further.

A day without Tony had seemed like a year to the Avengers. The lively man's presence was always felt in the tower, even when he locked himself up in the lab and didn't come out for days like he had been doing ever since the whole Galactus thing. Steve and Clint had figured that he might need some space to himself so they had told the others to lay off a bit, but that had lasted only so long. With the appearance of Peter and Scott, Tony was once again crowded and seemed to be retreating into himself. Every day, he would leave the Tower for an hour, never telling anyone where he was going and he would sometimes even leave at night. Steve had worried but there was nothing he could do. Tony always seemed more relaxed after those little outings and the Avengers had noticed and started making theories about it.

Steve had felt his heart crack when the possibility of Tony having an affair was brought up but he hid it well and never allowed Tony to suspect he thinks like that. Besides, what could he say? The truth, obviously. The truth that he was head over heals in love with the eccentric genius that seemed to be the Avengers' glue. Yeah, right. As if. What could he, an old relic from the past, offer someone like the futurist that Tony is? Only his damaged heart and he sometimes feared that that wasn't enough. Tony simply deserved more and better.

Steve sighed, pushing his thoughts away and instead focusing on the man himself. "It's not entirely his fault. We haven't exactly-"

~I know.~ Tony interrupted. ~You didn't even give him a chance. You were sulking because I was leaving, possibly for good, and you were taking it out on Rhody. That's not really fair, Steve. He at least deserves a chance.~ Rhody stared at the screen, not believing Tony would still stick up for him even after everything he had done. Even after being sent as his replacement.

The blond man ran a tired hand through his hair. "I know. I wish it was easier to accept him but he ... just doesn't click, you know? He doesn't fit in. He's too military, too formal, too stiff and tense, too ... too...!"

~Too not me?~

"Yeah." Steve nodded. "If you were just here-" he tried to say but Tony wouldn't let him continue.

~Then stop looking for me in him. He's his own person, Cap, and although he might seem a but dull, he's actually really great once you pull out that stick stuck up his ass. However, I think you might need Thor and Hulk to help you with that.~ Tony chuckled warmly when he saw his friend flush in embarrassment at Tony's language. ~Right, anyway, have a party tonight. Loosen up! Get to know each other! Tell me, how did the Avengers initially tried to get to know each other?~

"You dragged us all off to try out shwarma after the Battle of New York."

~Right! A get together to get to know each other! You do that and you'll be fine. Maybe we can take him in as a new team member, if he survives that long, that is.~ Steve seemed to be thinking it over so Tony decided to finish up the conversation. ~Anyway, I've gotta run. The presentation starts soon and I need to speak with Tiberius before that. Say 'hi' to the kids for me, hun!~

Steve blushed again at the joke as Tony's laughter filled the room for a few seconds before it was all silent again. Rhody suddenly felt like a fish out of water, unable to get the air into his lungs. After being away from Tony as long as he had, he had managed to live on without the man's smiles and quirks. But now, after once again being exposed to it all, Rhody could understand the Avengers' extremely bad moods and their extreme reluctance in letting Tony go. Tony breathes life in into their pitiful existences and they don't want to lose that. Rhody was a threat to that but they can't just kill him off so they were driving him away so Tony could come back.

Now he understood.

And now he knew what he was going to report. His superiors better get ready for the disappointment of a life time, because the Avengers are Tony's. Not SHIELD's and most definitely not the government's. Just Tony's.

And now that he realized that, he might get along with them. Only a few hours in and he had already failed. These damaged people didn't need a commander, but a leader. And not just any leader. They needed Tony, just as damaged as each of them, because he can understand them. And he didn't doubt that the genius needed them as well.

He kinda hoped he'd become even a temporary member of this crazy family.

00000

Tony frowned as soon as he finished his conversation with Steve, turning away from the computer he had actually used for the call. He looked out of the window of his hotel sweet, looking out at the city laid before him, so different from New York that he already felt homesick. It's not something that happened before, as he had never had a home to return to.

Home is where the heart is, they say, yet he had lost his heart along the way of the weapons he had been making since he was a kid in hopes of drawing his father's attention. He found remains of it again in Afghanistan when he was on the threshold of death and Ho Yinsen managed to bring him back to life, so to speak, with his words of encouragement. Well, it was more appropriate to say that Yinsen had been trying to get a reaction out of him, to make him want to think and blow things up so they could break free.

He lost some of those pieces with Yinsen's death and the destruction he wrought from it in his vengeance and anger.

However, when he got home, he had friends who should have picked up those pieces and helped him reform his heart, put it back together the right way ... instead, they thought he was suffering from PTSD (true, but not the point) and they left him to his own devices. If he was really that unstable, why did they leave him alone? They left him in pieces, in a lab he could do anything in, with lots of dangerous tools ...

But Tony, with the help of his bots and JARVIS, picked up the pieces on his own. Perhaps it was better that way, as he had become Iron Man.

And then he got his heart back fully when the Avengers came back together. They became his third (fourth?) family and all was right in the world.

That is, until he decided it was a good idea to screw Galactus over and instead ended up being the one screwed over. Seriously, nothing ever went good and _stayed_ good in his life. He was a half, okay _one third_ normal guy one day and that very same day he just had to go and become the new Herald of Galactus. He was an _idiot_ for all his genius. Or mad. He preferred mad over idiot.

"Sir, all the preparation are ready. You just need to look it all over." The smooth, almost melodic sounds of his AI's artificial voice calmed Tony and brought him back to earth. He turned towards the briefcase holding his armor and extended his right arm, fingers held closely together as a red and gold gauntlet detached itself from the case and flew onto his hand.

"Alright, JARVIS. Let's see what my old friend Ty is up to."


End file.
